The revival of heraldry

What is the New

Serbian Heraldry?

The New Serbian Heraldry is the name for the modern Serbian heraldic idiom that has been taking shape since the beginning of the 1990s. After decades in which cities and municipalities used socialist emblems — shields with factories, ears of wheat, landscapes, inscriptions and dates — the heraldists gathered around the Serbian Heraldry Society set the aim that territorial, ecclesiastical, corporate and family insignia should once again be true coats of arms.

These arms are built according to the rules of European heraldry and rest on the Serbian medieval heritage, the Illyrian armorials and the state heraldry of the Principality and Kingdom of Serbia. They are recognised by the three levels of arms, by mural and other crowns as a mark of rank, by supporters chosen from Serbian history and spirituality, and by flags and banners derived from the arms.

Foundation
The Serbian Heraldry Society “White Eagle”, founded in 1991.
Basis
Medieval Serbian insignia, the Illyrian armorials, the state heraldry of the nineteenth century and the rules of European heraldry
Application
Arms of cities and municipalities, eparchies, institutions and families
State arms
The arms of the Republic of Serbia of 2004, in their present form since 2010.
Foundation

Serbian Heraldry Society “White Eagle”

The Serbian Society for Heraldry, Genealogy, Vexillology and Phaleristics “White Eagle”, better known as the Serbian Heraldry Society, was founded in 1991 as a learned association for the systematic study of arms, genealogies, flags and decorations. The Society set itself the task of researching and registering the Serbian heraldic heritage, creating a national heraldic standard and a glossary of terms, and cultivating a new, modern heraldic idiom based on the best domestic and European tradition.

The founders of the Society were Dragomir Acović, Branko Bogdanović, Lazar Gerić, Bratislav Đurović, Svetomir Jakovljević, Radoš Ljušić, Miladin Marković, Aleksandar Palavestra, Marko Popović, Ljubomir Stevović and Radomir Stolica. Its work is carried on in colleges for heraldry, genealogy, phaleristics and vexillology.

The most prominent name of the New Serbian Heraldry is Dragomir Acović (Belgrade, 1943), architect, art historian and heraldist, author of a great many arms of Serbian cities and municipalities and one of the authors of the modern state arms of Serbia. Notable among the heraldic artists who draw arms on these principles is Ljubodrag Grujić, author of the arms of many municipalities.

Principles

Basic rules

  1. 1

    The shield is the basis of a coat of arms

    Everything a coat of arms has to say is placed in the shield. It contains no landscapes, perspective, inscriptions or years; the name of the bearer or a motto is written on the ribbon beneath the arms.

  2. 2

    Heraldic colours and metals

    The metals — gold and silver — and the colours red, blue, green, black and purple are used. Metal is not placed on metal, nor colour on colour, so that the insignia remain legible from a distance.

  3. 3

    Stylised charges

    Animals, buildings and objects are drawn in heraldic stylisation, so as to be recognisable even on a small shield, and not as a natural scene.

  4. 4

    Three levels of arms

    The lesser arms consist of the shield with a crown, the middle arms add external ornaments such as sprigs and a ribbon with the name, and the greater arms also the supporters, flags and compartment.

  5. 5

    The crown denotes rank

    Above the arms of cities and municipalities stands a mural crown, whose appearance shows the rank of the unit; above the arms of eparchies stands a bishop's mitre.

  6. 6

    Flag and banner

    The banner repeats the field of the shield, and the flag bears the arms or is derived from their colours. Both accompany the arms and are adopted together with them.

Assessment of insignia

How we assess insignia

All insignia in the register are classified by how far they respect these rules — from correct arms to a logotype. The rating stands at the top of each dossier, beside the name of the insignia.

  1. Heraldically correct coat of arms

    A coat of arms in keeping with the rules of the New Serbian Heraldry: a shield, heraldic colours and metals, stylised charges and correct external ornaments.

    149

  2. Coat of arms with heraldic irregularities

    A heraldic coat of arms with some departures from the rules: in its colours, the drawing of its charges, its external ornaments or its inscriptions.

    34

  3. Pseudo-heraldic emblem

    A device in the shape of a shield, but painted as a scene: with a landscape, inscriptions, years or symbols outside the language of heraldry. It is not a coat of arms.

    152

  4. Emblem

    A device of free form, most often a circle, oval or seal, which does not imitate a coat of arms.

    26